Mac did not have a good day on Monday. He is used to being the boss of the house when it comes to dogs. On Monday, we had company and that included three new dogs into his world. He welcomed the people, but the dogs, not so much. Poor Mac, these dogs did not take…

Mac, you met him in last week’s blog, the Bishon Poodle cross I live with – well Mac has a real problem with dogs and people who walk by our home. He leaps to the back of the love seat, barking and snarking at the poor unfortunates out on the road. I am glad I…

  I am co-parent to a poodle-bichon cross dog who although very intelligent, has patterns of behavior that boggle the mind. He loves to get under to bed to nap. There is not much room between the bottom of the box spring and the floor, so he really has to struggle to get under. To…

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” That was one of the sayings I heard frequently as a child. It didn’t ring true then and it still doesn’t. Words have far reaching and potentially devastating effects on the recipient. We have heard a lot lately about bullying and teens…

Last week I wrote on how each of us is a leader whether we recognize it or not. This week I am thinking about how good leaders take responsibility for their choices and actions. Unfortunately responsibility is one of those things that many avoid. You are probably familiar with a cartoon in the paper called…

Yes, you lead. If not you, then who? Leadership is not just about corporate CEO’s or elected officials. It is about each of us and the choices we make in our lives. By example we are leading our employees, our family, our children and our friends. It may be as small as the decision on…

Awhile ago I wrote about someday, one day, never. Well, this week my one day happened. My partner and I were away from home and had called back to check on my elderly mother in law (with whom we live). She did not answer and after dozens of calls, we had the neighbour go and…

When you sit down at your desk in the morning and turn on your computer what is the first thing you do? Check your e-mail? If so, you are like hundreds maybe thousands of us. Email is a truly amazing thing and it often is the biggest thief of time and productivity that exists. You…

Words define us. The words we say out loud or in our heads define our reality. If we use words that constrict our choices: don’t, can’t, won’t, then it is likely that indeed we don’t, we can’t or we won’t. Yet those kind of negative and minimizing words are generally part of most people’s every…

Years ago I won a speech contest which started:”Questions, questions, questions ” At that time I did not realize how truly important questions were. It seems to me that as a society we are encouraged not to ask questions. For example, on TV these days there is a commercial saying that the residents of BC…